Orthodontics are directed towards the treatment of malocclusions that result from irregular tooth positioning within a mouth. Most orthodontic methods include the use of brackets or “braces” attached to predetermined teeth, with the orthodontic system adapted to slowly drive the teeth into final optimal positions as determined prior to placement of brackets on the teeth. In the US, the orthodontics market is in excess of $12 billion, growing at 1.5% annually. Large percentages of teenagers are being treated for tooth irregularities to help improve physical appearance, speaking, and eating.
As the market for orthodontic products is so large, numerous improvements have been made in the treatment of misplaced teeth. Ceramic brackets, lingual treatments, and “invisible” plastic elements have all been employed pursuant to making orthodontic treatments both more effective and less invasive. Many patients being treated with brackets or their alternatives prefer to have little to no visible signs of the expensive “hardware” in their mouths.
One of the challenges facing any orthodontic procedure concerns the overall success of the treatment. The vast majority of orthodontic procedures are based on archwire systems, wherein the archwire is prepared from a “shape-memory” material. The archwire is prepared and shaped according to details of the specific teeth and treatment in question. During the course of the treatment, the archwire, in attempting to return to a predetermined shape, pulls, pushes, or otherwise directs teeth towards predetermined positions as desired at the end of treatment.
Orthodontia has been around for decades, and for many children, wearing “braces” has become a rite of passage. FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an orthodontic device that includes a traditional archwire 190 and brackets 170 applied to teeth 120 for the purpose of straightening out the teeth 120. The archwire 190 is often made of a shape-memory alloy which drives the teeth 120 towards predetermined final positions as desired by dentist and patient.
Some existing solutions utilize an orthodontic device featuring brackets and an archwire placed on a lingual side of teeth. The major advantage of such existing solutions is the invisibility to outside observers.
Other existing solutions utilize a plastic orthodontic device that is adapted to minimize external visibility. A plastic mouthpiece designed to fit around and adjust teeth position is placed over teeth, but is nearly invisible to an outside observer.
It should be noted that the archwires occasionally need to be replaced during treatment, and that the plastic mouthpiece must be periodically replaced. Each such replacement is necessary to adjust the movement of teeth during treatment.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the deficiencies of the prior art by correcting the arrangement of teeth in a patient while minimizing replacement of portions of the correcting device.